Former Framingham North coach to receive award for helping youth

Share via e-mail

Caputo to be honored for dedication to youth

Vin Caputo, head football coach at Framingham North High from 1977 to 1982 and a longtime assistant coach on area high school and college teams, will receive the Eric R. Cohn
Education Foundation’s annual award for making a difference in the lives of young people.

A science and physical education teacher at Framingham North and Framingham High for 33 years, and a respected referee and official, Caputo will be recognized during an awards ceremony June 10 at the Doubletree Hotel in Milford.

The nonprofit foundation, which has honored many area educators, coaches and athletic directors, was started by Framingham resident Mark Cohn
in 1994, a year after his brother Eric’s death at age 43.

The foundation will also present scholarships to students from Algonquin Regional, Waltham, Framingham, Wellesley, and Somerville high schools.

Eric Cohn taught at Bellingham High and was principal of the religious education program at Temple Beth Am in Framingham.

“It is truly an honor to receive this award and to become a member of the group of previous honorees. I know many of them and admire their contributions to our youth,’’ said Caputo, who teamed up with future Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino
(Naval Academy) at Winchester High, and was a captain and center on the 1961 University of Massachusetts football squad.

“I am happy to be part of the foundation family.’’

Medfield High athletic director Jon Kirby
was honored last year.

Caputo, who retired from coaching in 1995 and as an official two years ago, said he had the perfect role model in Winchester High football coach Henry Knowlton.

“He was a wonderful example of how someone could combine the professions of a teacher and a coach,’’ said Caputo, whose wife, Charlotte, also taught in Framingham, and whose sons, Michael
and Vincent, played football at Framingham South High.

“My reward as a teacher and coach came from the successes — academically, athletically, and in the workplace — of my students, and when college coaches told me about the good performances of my former North players,’’ Caputo said.

A Framingham resident for 45 years until moving to East Dennis last year, Caputo was praised by Mark Cohn as “special and beloved’’ and by Framingham High athletic director Gary Doherty
as “a class act.’’

Caputo was an assistant football coach at Marian High in Framingham, at Framingham North from 1967 to 1976, at Framingham State College the next two seasons, and then at Framingham North and at Framingham High after the town consolidated its two high schools in 1991.

Cohn, a Framingham North graduate who runs a college selection and application company, said his brother was “a gentle soul and great educator,’’ and strong supporter of youth baseball in Framingham.

For information about tickets to the dinner, call Cohn at 508-733-2467 or 617-363-0703, or e-mail him at cohn218@yahoo.com.

Waltham’s Cintolo earns All-District baseball honor

Wrentham’s Jake Cintolo, a junior infielder on the Suffolk University baseball team, was named to the Capital One Academic All-District team by the College Sports Information Directors Association.

Cintolo, who hit .398 and broke Suffolk’s single-season record with 18 doubles, was the only player from the Great Northeast Athletic Conference to earn a berth on the team.

A first-team GNAC selection this spring, the King Philip Regional High graduate also holds the Suffolk and conference records for career doubles. He scored 44 runs and drove in 37 for the Rams, who were 29-14 overall and advanced to the conference title game and the ECAC tournament.

Newton North grad Copan gets big win for St. Joseph’s

St. Joseph’s College junior pitcher Rae-Marie Copan
fashioned a gem for her final start of the season — a one-hit shutout victory against Lesley University last Friday in the NCAA Division 3 softball regional at Babson College.

Copan, a four-time Bay State Conference all-star at Newton North High, finished the season with a string of 31.2 scoreless innings for the school in Standish, Maine. In 20 appearances, 16 as a starter, Copan went 13-2 with a 1.53 earned run average, and was named to the Great Northeast Athletic Conference third team.

She was also a two-time conference Pitcher of the Week for the Monks, who finished the season 34-13 overall after being eliminated from the tourney with their 2-0 loss to Rowan University on Saturday.